Blais Farm: A Family Tradition Of Helping Kids

For 7 days a week from dawn till dusk since March, without a day off, the Blais family works the farm. They also donate sizable amounts of fresh produce to local organizations.
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Blais Farm: A Family Tradition Of Helping Kids Submitted by VT Journal on Wed, 09/12/2012 - 4:33pm By Cindy Johnson SPRINGFIELD, VT -The sun rises on Blais Farm and everybody is up and working, cause the crops won’t wait. For 7 days a week from dawn till dusk since March, without a day off, the Blais family works the farm. And all that impatient produce, fresh from the field, ripe and ready, that doesn’t fill the tables at Blais Produce Stand or is sent off to the four local Hannaford’s or Black River Produce, won’t go to waste. In just one day last week 35 boxes or 700 lbs of tomatoes were donated to Springfield’s Parent Child Center. Donna Thomas, the Nutrition Worksite Supervisor at Parent Child Center, recently sent Maureen Blais of Blais farm stand a thank you note for all the donated produce which feeds lunch to the 40-45 daycare children, mothers, and staff at the Center. There the Learning Together program allows young mothers who otherwise couldn't finish high school to work on their diplomas at the Center and receive job training, while their children are looked after in the downstairs daycare. At the learning kitchen the student/mothers prepare wholesome meals with fresh produce given by Blais and Black River Produce, while also being given fresh vegetables to take home to feed their families. Though it's cheaper for these young women to open a processed dinner from a can than to use fresh produce, admits Thomas, the donated produce makes it doable for them to learn the healthy eating habits that maybe weren't part of their own upbringing. As part of the program they learn one or two recipes using the State requirement 1 or 1 1/2 ounces of protein. Recently, they had a farm program where they made pigs-in-a-blanket and ants-on-a-log (celery with peanut butter, dotted with raisins). And as part of Vermont's Reach Up Program, the young women are also given effectiveness training for handling life situations like banking issues or speaking on the phone with a doctor. Thomas, who has worked in communications for 20 years, emphasizes preparation with the young women, like having bank statements ready for referral. The clients, some coming from as far as Bellows Falls, work at the Center doing day care, reception desk duties, kitchen work, and assisting at Myrtle's Closet, the adjacent thrift shop. One young woman in the program, motivated by the desire to buy a car, has been attending classes, working at the Center, and busing tables on the weekends. Back at the farm, the Blais family is happy to help, donating their 2nd grade produce to The Center, Edgar May, local churches, and anybody else who asks, providing peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, onions, beans, basil, broccoli, cabbage, melons, carrots, lettuce, corn, and potatoes. The farm is run by David Blais with the help of his son, Bradley Blais, and nephew, Curby Goodrich. David’s sister, Maureen Blais, runs the stand, and Stephanie Johnson, originally from Jamaica, helps out at both the stand and the farm. Helping the town has been a long custom in Maureen and David’s family, with his grandparents donating to the Town’s non-profits for many years before him. Blais Farm lies at the edge of Springfield on the 50 acres along Old Connecticut River Road across from that great New England waterway. Their farm has green houses, barns, a main house, and a workshop, named after David’s father Bernie, where they do agriculture equipment repairs in the winter. Four generations of the Blais family have worked year-round there in Springfield. In winter David has a logging business that also provides the wood heat the farm uses throughout the long Vermont off-season. Right about now, David is getting tired. He was hoping that maybe Hurricane Isaac might bring some needed rain and give him a day or two off. Unfortunately health regulations require farm workers to be trained in food handling so volunteer help at the farm is greatly limited. Interested folks could come in and help pull plastic this fall, maybe. But times are tough over at the farm, income is down and the costs of fuel and packaging are rising. Things were picking up in 2009, 2010, and 2011, but this year the farm has dropped back to 2006 levels. “But there is nothing wrong with this town,” says David. And “Maybe things will pick-up,” he added brightly.